For years, discussion around the circular economy has focused on climate change, sustainability targets and the global e-waste crisis. For many South African businesses those issues matter but seem secondary to more immediate pressures like crime, power constraints, inflation and operational uncertainty.
The circular economy is more than a purely environmental ideal. It is a business model that helps organisations reduce risk, unlock hidden value and deliver social impact. By managing assets more deliberately across their lifecycle, companies can build resilience against supply-chain volatility, lower costs and demonstrate measurable ESG outcomes.
One of the most overlooked elements of circularity is IT asset disposal (ITAD). Rather than treating old hardware as waste, ITAD reframes it as an opportunity. Sensitive data is securely destroyed and organisations recover value through resale, refurbishment or donation, which unlocks the full circular potential of the hardware.
Helping to bridge the digital divide
Millions of South Africans still lack meaningful access to technology. However, devices that no longer meet enterprise requirements can continue to deliver years of use to schools, community organisations and small businesses, helping to narrow the digital divide.
“It’s about extracting the full value of a device over its entire lifetime,” says Clayton Heldsinger, Managing Director of Dispose-IT. “Recycling should be the last step, not the default.”
Handled properly, Heldsinger says, IT asset disposal using circular practices converts retired technology into a practical resource. It supports risk management, value recovery and tangible social benefit without requiring additional spend or complexity.
“When a learner uses a laptop for the first time, it changes how they see their future,” says Evan Berger, a director at Computerlab, the non-profit working with companies to repurpose IT equipment for education and community upliftment. “It’s not just a device. It provides very necessary access to the digital world.”
Refurbished equipment supports online learning, job applications, skills training and small enterprise activity. For businesses, this is a measurable social impact created from assets that are often already written off.
Structured resale, refurbishment or component recovery programmes can also return financial value directly to the business. This value is often lost when equipment is left in storage or disposed of informally.
“Disposal should not be a cost centre,” says Heldsinger. “If it’s managed properly, it can help fund future IT investment without increasing spend, or alternatively support donation programmes.”
There is also a broader economic upside, because refurbishment and reuse support small enterprises, create technical jobs and grow digital skills. Environmental benefits follow naturally through reduced imports and lower waste volumes, without requiring businesses to adopt an activist stance.
What companies need to do differently
Heldsinger identifies three areas where many organisations fall short:
- Data protection must be treated as non-negotiable. Decommissioned devices still hold credentials, documents and system access. Using informal or unaccredited disposal channels exposes organisations to serious data and compliance risks.
- Businesses need to work with accredited IT asset disposal partners. Certified providers securely erase devices, maintain proper chain of custody and provide compliant downstream handling. Without this control, devices leak into informal markets and both security and social value are lost.
- Disposal needs to be planned, not reactive. Companies should decide upfront what they want from disposal, whether that’s value recovery, compliance, donations or a combination. Disposal planning should be built into procurement and refresh cycles, not triggered by annual clean-outs.
South Africa has the skills, demand and labour base to support multiple device lifecycles. A single laptop can move from enterprise use to a small business, then into education, before being used for training, followed by repair and finally component recovery before recycling.
“This is circularity that works in the real world,” says Heldsinger. “It creates value at every stage and supports the country as a whole. In 2026, IT asset disposal needs to be part of core business planning.”
Berger adds, “In a country of breathtaking beauty to protect, yet staggering inequality to address, we all have a role to play. If your used equipment can help a child learn and keep a school running, or help someone earn an income, why wouldn’t you dispose of it correctly?”
